Driver facing charge in crash that killed 17-year-old passenger last year

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This article was published 10/10/2023 (1028 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 19-year-old man is facing a charge of criminal negligence causing death, after a 17-year-old boy was killed in a crash in Old St. Vital a year ago.

Passenger David Bunguke died after a car crashed into a utility pole at St. Mary’s Road and Guay Avenue shortly before 9 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2022.

Speed and the manner of driving were allegedly factors in the collision, said Winnipeg police, who announced the charge Tuesday.

“It was well above the speed limit,” police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said of the car’s alleged speed. “It was going at such a high speed that (the driver) lost control of the vehicle.”

Surveillance video from a nearby business showed the sedan veering out of control while trying to navigate a left curve in the northbound lanes of St. Mary’s.

A sign recommends a maximum speed of 40 km/h for the curve. The speed limit on that stretch of St. Mary’s is 60 km/h.

The car’s passenger side was severely impacted when it crashed into the pole.

The driver, then 18, was initially taken to hospital in critical condition. His condition was later upgraded to serious.

The Winnipeg Police Service said a suspect was arrested by traffic division officers Oct. 6 and then released from custody.

Police did not release his name because he has not been formally charged.

Investigations into fatal crashes are usually lengthy and complex, requiring a reconstruction of the incident to help gather evidence.

In this case, police also had to wait to make an arrest due to the fact the accused suffered extensive injuries, said Chancy.

Police did not say if or when the suspect was released from hospital, nor if he requires ongoing care.

Bunguke’s father, John, previously told the Free Press the car was driven by one of his son’s friends.

Bunguke, who was of Congolese origin, graduated from Collège Louis-Riel about four months before the crash.

He played soccer for Manitoba at the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Ontario’s Niagara region.

After attracting interest from colleges and universities in Canada and the United States, he was taking time to train, work and weigh his post-secondary options, his family and friends said after the crash.

In 2022, the WPS investigated an all-time high of 28 traffic fatalities, including 12 pedestrian deaths.